Biotechnology

Biotechnology can be defined as the merging of technology and biology, or technology based on living things. In 1919, Karoly Ereky, a Hungarian agricultural engineer, coined the term “biology” and described it as all lines of work by which products are produced from raw materials with the aid of living things. A misconception of biotechnology, is that it is relatively new; however, it has been around for centuries, as people have been domesticating animals, and used microorganisms to make wine, beer, bread, and cheese.

Biotechnology is pretty much everywhere, and has an impact on many aspects of our lives. It is utilized in processed food production, crop cultivation, pharmaceutical products, healthcare, clothing, and environmental clean-up. The objective of biotechnology is to improve the quality of life for all living things in the present and future.

Part 1

What are some of the examples of biotechnology that have made improvements to your life?

One example is antibiotics, which are used to kill or stop bacterial growth. Antibiotics are derived from microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and molds. Ear infections, pneumonia, UTIs, bacterial STDs, and staph infections, are examples of infections treated with antibiotics. Different families of antibiotics, fight bacterial cells differently. Below are brief descriptions of how 3 families of antibiotics fight bacteria.

Beta-Lactam – Interferes with the formation of bacterial cell walls.

Macrolides – Prevents bacterial ribosomes from building proteins.

Quinolones – Inhibits bacterial growth by hindering them from duplicating their DNA.

Preserving food is one of the oldest forms of traditional biotechnology, and there are a number of methods used to delay the process of food spoiling. Food spoilage is caused by microbes such as bacteria, mold, and yeast. which break down the tissue in  Freezing is a simple and convenient way to preserve meat, vegetables, and fruits. It also kills the pathogens that cause food spoilage. A few other methods include dehydrating, smoking, canning, curing(salting), pickling, or adding chemical additives (which are pretty much found in all processed foods).

Forensic Science, which plays a significant role in crime scene investigations. Physical evidence used in criminal cases are collected and analyzed, and the results are presented in court. Examples of physical evidence are hair and fibers, bodily fluids, impressions (tire tracks, shoe prints, and bite marks), and electronically stored information (cell phone records, emails, documents, and photos).  Sciences applied to forensics are chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and computer science.